Typical curbed storm drain catch basins are designed as a primary entry points for urban water runoff. The curb openings provide nuisance water, low flow storm water, and high flow storm water into the catch basin, as well as trash and/or debris that emanates from the streets and curbsides. Trash and/or debris such as bottles, cans, plastic wrappers, leaves, grass cuttings, sediments, manure, hydrocarbons, and other pollutants frequently find their way into these catch basins and may travel through storm drain outlet pipes and into rivers, lakes, oceans, and other bodies of water.
A vast majority of screened covers that have been inserted into curb opening catch basins stay closed during the dry season and swing open through mechanical trip devices when the storm water reaches a predetermined curb height. During heavy rainfall events, due to storms or water main pipeline breakage, it is imperative that, when water flows from the streets into the curb openings containing these retractable screens, the screens open up significantly in order to prevent street flooding.
Street sweeping trucks clean up accumulated debris that is collected in front of these closed screens during periodic maintenance/service schedules. Large pieces of trash can be pushed into the curb inlet openings inadvertently by the street sweeping trucks; rotating brushes on the sweepers designed to collect the debris, when approaching a curb inlet, can inadvertently push the larger trash/debris inside the basin. Many retractable screened devices that have been designed to block trash/debris from entering the curb inlet basins in the dry seasons open vertically in the curb inlet space of the catch basin during high storm water flow.
During large “first-flush” storm water events, large accumulated trash emanating from the curb-gutter areas of a typical street can block the opening area of a vertically opening storm drain screen system, thus causing street flooding and possibly causing property damage. There are many different curb inlet style catch basin types within the United States of America, as well as across the world. Some include severe, top angled, and throated curb inlets. Typically, vertically opening screened covers inserted into these types of curb inlets cannot properly function as designed, due to the severe throat angle, as well as due to the short opening distance from the curb face to the back wall of the curb inlet area of the storm drain catch basin. Also, some curb inlets can only be 2½″ to 4″ in height, in which case vertical-opening-only type screen devices installed into these narrow inlets cannot properly function during a large storm water event. Vertical-screen-only locking and unlocking providers include, for example, US Publication 2010/0147752 to Jarvis, U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,088 to Yehuda, U.S. Pat. No. 2014/0262996 to Alvarado, U.S. Pat. No. 7,238,279 to Saurenman, U.S. Publication No. 2004/0173513 to Nino, U.S. Publication No. 2004/0069697 to Martinez, and now U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,894 to Flury.
Some disadvantages of these systems include the susceptibility to being fouled with trash/debris often, due to these systems' inability to open vertically enough in the curb inlet throat area of a stormwater catch basin. Additionally, another known screen system, such as that disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2010/0147752 to Jarvis, utilized elongated openings or slots, which are easily fouled with small trash, debris such that the screens will malfunction and not open.
Because of these shortcomings, there is a need in the art for a combined, horizontal and vertical retractable screen that cannot be fouled with trash/debris to prevent its mechanisms from opening during “first-flush” storm water events. Furthermore, a retractable screen that can open both horizontally and vertically to a higher degree in the curb inlet space prevents the clogging or entanglement of trash/debris within any curb inlet throat area.
Finally, there is also a need for a retractable screen that is capable of being manually opened from the street side and locked in the open position before or during a large storm event. The retractable screen should remain open until manually released, also from the street side. The ability to manually open and lock the retractable screen provides added flexibility to areas that may experience trouble draining.